After a month on the blink, the Bay Bridge light sculpture is again shimmering nightly with constantly changing images unobstructed by hundreds of uncooperative lights that either refuse to turn off or stay on.

Crews working for the "Bay Lights" project delved into the problem and found that the damp air, high winds and bridge vibrations somehow combined to push moisture into some of the 25,000 LED lights, said Ben Davis, a public relations executive and head of the privately financed Illuminate the Arts organization, the project sponsor.

"In this harsh atmosphere, a little bit of moisture was entering some of the LEDs," he said. "It is enough to cause disruption."

The nightly illumination of the span is the work of New York artist Leo Villareal, who created a design that uses 25,000 individually programmable white LED lights that constantly change.

But beginning in mid-May, hundreds of the lights began malfunctioning, freezing in an on or off position and creating blotches in the illuminated artwork.

"It was ugly; it was noticeable; it was awful to see it limping as it was," Davis acknowledged.

Since the problem was diagnosed, Villareal has returned to the Embarcadero and reconfigured the algorithms that produce the changing images to work around those lights that refuse to turn on or off.

"He has reimagined it in a way that has it looking beautiful again," said Davis.

At the same time, Philips Color Kinetics, maker of the LEDs, has started replacing the strands of broken lights so the "Bay Lights" can shine brightly through the summer, while also looking at a longer-term solution. Philips has agreed to cover the cost of the repairs, including lights and labor, Davis said.

"It is incredibly generous and responsible," he said.

Since the nightly light show on the north side of the span started in March, tourists and locals alike have been drawn to the Embarcadero and waterfront restaurants and hotels to watch the shifting images that move across the bridge in shades of white light.

The repairs, combined with a recent $1.5 million donation to the art project that completes the general funding for the two-year project, brightened the day Friday for Davis, who sat in the sunshine along the Embarcadero looking at the bridge as he announced the news.

"This is another chance for the Bay Area to shine in an extraordinary way," he said.

The donation comes from WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, who was the first donor to the "Bay Lights," Davis said. It completes what he described as the baseline funding for the artwork - the $8 million cost of creating, installing and operating it for two years.

Contributions are still being accepted on the "Bay Lights" website, and will be used to extend the length of the light display - which could become a permanent fixture - or for other art projects around the bay, Davis said.

The interim fix will probably be an ongoing effort, he said, with crews replacing the strands of lights as they freeze up.

"We recognize this is going to be sort of a trench war of maintenance to get through the summer," he said.

While crews are focusing on the temporary fix, he said, they'll soon turn their attention to determining how to install lights that can better withstand the elements. The goal is to make those improvements in the fall, Davis said. When it happens, he said, Villareal will most likely re-create the light sculpture again.

The "Bay Lights", he said, is transforming from a massive one-time art installation into an evolving work that's changing to adapt to the elements. And that, said Davis, is good reason for people to head back to the Embarcadero to view the lights dancing across the 1.8-mile suspension span.

"People will see something extraordinarily beautiful," he said. "They'll still see the hand of Leo Villareal, including his reaction to these constraints. And, come this fall, they will see a reimagination."